Ok, I confess, it took a few batches to get this recipe “just right,” which for me means a couple of things.

First, I had to get these babies to to look decent, edible, desirable even. Let’s just say my first attempts were rather inept. I tried to make a rich and gooey sauce with cherries and then dip this cherry goo into melted chocolate. So Mensa of me –as you can imagine, the result did not look entirely appetizing. And I think candy should look appetizing. Very appetizing.

For my second attempt, I dropped globs of cherries and their sauce onto a parchment lined baking dish and then dripped chocolate over them. I did not exactly achieve a professional outcome utilizing this method.

My later attempts unfolded this afternoon, as my younger son and I had a pre-Valentine’s day candy making extravaganza. While my older son lay on the couch reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid, my little guy and I melted chocolate and put it on everything we could think of. Lots of fun.

In search of perfection, I made another batch of candied cherries and during the process, recalled that I actually own candy making molds. Happily, I took them down from the far corner cabinet of the kitchen and found the appropriate mold for making chocolate covered cherries. It looks like this.

When I finished up my fourth batch of cherries and gave my son a taste, he said, “Mom, these taste just like the ones from the store.” I was happy, though slightly surprised that he had eaten those disgustingly sweet super duper artificial sugar infused chocolate covered store bought cherries. Oh well, what can you do? At least (according to him) I had achieved parity with “store bought,” which to me means success.

So, on to the recipe. Beware, these are pretty darn sweet. If you want to experiment with something more adult-like and less cloying in nature, you could try cutting back on the agave, adding some stevia and maybe some liqueur, or orange (or lemon) zest for extra flavor.

I haven’t tried this myself (as you can see, I was quite busy just figuring out this recipe), so feel free to carry out your own trial and error process. Just be sure to leave a comment and let us know the results!

Chocolate Covered Cherries

In a medium saucepan, heat cherries, agave, vanilla and almond extract to a simmer

Combine arrowroot and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl to form a paste

Raise heat a bit and stir the arrowroot paste into the cherry mixture

Stir for about 1 minute until mixture thickens, scraping bottom of the pan with spoon, to evenly distribute the arrowroot, which can tend to settle on the bottom of the pan

Remove cherry mixture from heat and set aside

Melt chocolate in a small saucepan over very low heat

Spoon scant 1 teaspoon of the melted chocolate into each of the candy mold

Spoon one cherry (with some of the sauce) on top of the chocolate

Cover with another scant teaspoon of chocolate

Place in refrigerator to set, about 20-30 minutes

Remove from refrigerator, pop candy out of molds

Serve

This is a photo of the first scant teaspoon of melted chocolate in the candy mold.

The cherries and their sauce have been spooned into the mold and here I am spooning the second scant teaspoon of melted chocolate over the cherry mixture (while snapping a photo) pretty pro, eh?

I cleaned the kitchen (there was chocolate everywhere) while I waited for the chocolates to set in the refrigerator. This is how it looked straight out of the fridge. It was kinda challenging to get the chocolate out of the molds. I had to really bend and work the mold to force the chocolate out.

It was well worth the work. These chocolate covered cherries are delicious. I plan on making them with milk chocolate or white chocolate for my boys on Valentine’s Day.

Lovely! A future note for working with candy molds – the chocolate didn’t want to come out because it wasn’t tempered – which is a big pain in the ass, honestly, but it really does make a difference. The other thing you can try is using candy melts, which are designed to melt nicely, go into molds, and unmold nicely, but I have no idea what sort of things might be in them (so that may be right out).

Depending on your willingness-to-fuss level (mine is pretty high), you might also have better luck if you paint the chocolate up the sides of the molds before adding the cherry mixture – Basically put your chocolate in, use a paintbrush to smooth it up the sides so you get a nice coat, let dry (or pop in the fridge for 10), then add cherries and top coat.

Wow, these look wonderful! I have seen a similar recipe before for homemade Reeses cups, except using a mini muffin tin! (And of course peanut butter, etc.) My dad and brother would LOVE these. My brother has always loved the gross fake maraschino cherries that come from the store. But these are healthy as well as delicious, and easy! That’s why I love your recipes. I will definitely be trying this. Maybe I will do it in July for his birthday? I also love to see how you let your boys help you. I can see you working in the kitchen together and having a blast. I want this with my kids some day :)

Gorgeous dessert Elana! These look so pretty, I commend your hard work to get them just right! It’s always so gratifying when a kitchen creation turns out right and is approved by others!!
If only Dagoba made their chocolate chips with agave rather than cane sugar, then I could try these and all your other amazing chocolate containing recipes (your Double Chocolate Mocha Cookies… drool!). Anyone else allergic to cane sugar want email Dagoba along with me asking for them to consider making a baking chip with agave?!
Happy Valentines Day! Do you and your hubby have plans?

Please help…..I tried making the double chocolate espresso cookies but they didn’t turn out well at all. They were flatter than pancakes and kind of greasy. I followed the recipe to a “T” Can anyone tell me what went wrong?

Oh my gosh! I just had to call my husband over and show him these pictures! Wow! You are amazing! I really want a mold now – chocolate covered cherries are my favorite! I don’t think I’ve had them in years though! I’m pretty sure I’ve asked you this before, but do you ever go to Belvedere? I love their vegan chocolate :-) The big chain chocolate stores look at me like I have two heads when I ask them if they have any dairy-free chocolate, as if chocolate comes from a cow ;-) LOL

I love your “crisp” blog. This is my first visit and I find the uncluttered nature of your page very easy and relaxing, not so frenzied with ads and whatnot. Your content is in focus.
I love chocolate candy, and yours are really pretty. That must mean you have great photos! duh? I look forward to reading more.
Thanks
AmyRuth

These look absolutely wonderful and well worth a try! Candy molds can be a huge pain…and tempering isn’t the most fun task either. But with results like that I think it’d be worth it! Will certainly be giving them a shot now that I’ve finally found agave on this teeny little island.

Tracey -Thanks for your suggestions. I think I accidently tempered one of my batches (it turned out really well) and love the idea of tempering from now on –I will do that!

mutritious nuffins -Thanks! I hope your dad and brother enjoy them and yes, hanging in the kitchen with children is the best :-)

Sophie -Thanks for your comment! It took a couple of tries though was well worth it.

Emily -Thanks for the kudos! I haven’t seen dark chocolate that is sweetened with agave nectar, though I do have a fun homemade chocolate fudge recipe using agave if you have a hunkering for making your own chocolate. I’m a bit of a grinch when it comes to what I consider “Hallmark” holidays. I don’t make any plans other than baking :-)

Shirley -Thanks, your comments are so nice! I hope you and your husband have a great Valentines Day!

VeggieGirl -Thanks!

Hayley -Thanks and hope you enjoy them.

Brenda -You’re most welcome. Thanks for your comment.

Dani -Yes, it was fun to use a frozen treat that is such a delicacy during winter, The frozen cherries worked out great.

Chris -If the Double Chocolate Mocha Cookies are greasy and runny it just means that you need to add a little more almond flour –try 1/4 cup and they should work out well. There is a whole issue with using cup measurements in recipes — true bakers often weigh their ingredients. That is way too FUSSY for me and for the people who frequent this blog. I think the problem when these recipes are turning out runny is either a) Bob’s Red Mill almond flour was used which just doesn’t work at all in these recipes; or b) I scoop my flour into a measuring cup (which makes it more packed and more flour in the cup) if you are pouring your flour then you would get about 2 ounces less per cup, not a big deal it would seem, however, if a recipe has 2 cups or more in it, then we would have a discrepancy of close to 1/4 cup. I’m sorry this is so complicated and I hope it helps. Please let me know how it goes if you try them again. I really want to work with you to fix this :-)

Kelly -You’re so funny! No, I haven’t been to Belvedere, what/where is it?

AmyRuth -Thank you for the comments about my site design, I’m glad you like it and thanks for stopping by, I hope you’ll be back for more!

Samantha -Candy molds can be a challenge, though I think they are well worth it when you finally get the hoped for results. Let me know how they turned out if you make ‘em.

These look sooo good! I’m going to take a look at the fudge recipe (since I don’t eat sugar at all), but I’m also going to hunt down some *healthy* sugar free chocolate so hopefully I can make these!
Thanks for all your efforts to make it easier for the rest of us :)

I have a recipe book called Sweet Truth that tells how to make chocolates out of unsweetened chocolate and honey or agave. My daughter also cannot have cane sugar so today I am going to try to make chocolate covered cherries with that. I picked up a silicone type heart shaped ice cube tray at the dollar store today and am going to try using that!

Those look wonderful, Elana! I was thinking about making a sf version of chocolate covered cherries at some point as well. No preservatives or corn syrup in homemade candy is a big plus! You are so creative. Those candy molds are a great idea. Hope you had a lovely Valentine’s Day!

This recipe is just in time! I plan on using the idea for the filling, except I’ll probably be using honey instead of agave (I’m a bit OVER the fence when it comes to this sweetener now days), and halving the amount of honey and other ingredients. I’ll probably try to make it RAW, as I’m finding a lot of enjoyment in those types of recipes.

Elena, do you know how we could make the filling have a white, creamy center? I dream of those days when I had the store bought chocolate covered cherries, with their ooey, gooey, high fructose corn syrup filling, and I know that we can make an alternative that will be so much better that doesn’t cause a surge in our blood sugars!

Thank you again Elena for the recipe! I will be a hunting for candy molds this weekend.

I just made these and, while they taste fine, I won’t be using this recipe again as is. The filling to chocolate ratio is way off. My mold holds 12 chocolates, so I made those and have a very small amount of chocolate left over (maybe enough for 6 more). However, I have easily 2/3 of the filling left. I know that I made the correct amount of filling and my mold was the same size too. If I were ever to make these again I would at least cut the filling recipe in half. I also think the vanilla extract was overpowering so would cut that amount down. Thanks for the recipe – it was fun to try!

Comments are greatly appreciated! Unfortunately Elana is not able to answer substitution questions, as the only way to know if something works is to test it, and she does not provide this service. If you have a substitution question, please don't hesitate to leave a comment here, and another reader may jump in to answer.
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